Packing case for fish or other perishable products which require liquid drainage



30,1968 CROCELLA ETAL 3,366,273

FISH EHISHABLE PROD PACKING CASE OR OTHER P UCTS WHICH REQUIRE LIQUID DRAINAGE Filed Oct. 19, 1964 United States Patent 3,366,273 PACKING CASE FOR FISH OR OTHER PERISH- ABLE PRODUCTS WHHCH REQUIRE LIQUID DRAINAGE Paolo Crocella and Oreste Pasquarelli, Milan, Italy, assignors to Montecatini Edison, S.p.A. Filed Oct. 19, 1964, Ser. No. 404,739

Claims priority, application Italy, Oct. 21, 1963,

5,506/ 63 6 Claims. (Cl. 220-97) Our invention relates to packing cases for fish or other perishable products mixed with pieces of ice for preserving the same, the cases being provided with means for draining the water formed by the melting of the ice during storage.

Known cases of this general type are made of wood and, to keep the cost of manufacturing low as well as to permit greater ease in manufacturing, the wooden packing cases have sharp edges. Moreover, when the known cases are stacked, the drainage water of the upper cases tends to drain into the lower cases so that the product contained in the lower cases is often contaminated by the drainage water from the upper cases. When stacking these known cases they are placed merely one on top of the other without locking the one case on the other.

It is accordingly an object of our invention to provide packing cases for fish or other perishable products that are cooled with ice which can be drained individually when stacked so as to avoid pollution of the lower packing cases.

It is an additional object of our invention to provide such packing cases as will be locked together when stacked so as not to require them to be tied or secured with ropes or other tying devices to the vehicle used for transporting the cases, as is necessary for conventional cases.

It is still another object of our invention to form the packing cases of plastic or similar material So that the edges of the cases may be rounded and consequently minimize the possibility of injury.

With these and other objects in view and in accordance with our invention, we provide a packing case for fish or other perishable products that are mixed with pieces of ice, comprising a bottom wall having drain holes at opposite ends thereof, two opposite longitudinal walls and two opposite transverse walls, the longitudinal walls extending upwardly from the bottom walls at converging inclines and formed each with an outwardly extending rib at the lower edge thereof. The drain holes extend through the ribs, and the ribs of the higher case overlap the upper edge of the inclined transverse walls of the lower case when two or more of the packing cases are stacked one on the other whereby water formed by the melting of the ice in each packing case is individually drained out of the respective packing case without passing into the lower packing cases. Further, in accordance with our invention, We provide an outwardly protruding rib at the bottom of the transverse walls to lend further stability to the stack of cases piled one on the other.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a packing case for fish or other perishable products requiring liquid drainage, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.

The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the follov "ice ing description of a specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a packing case constructed in accordance with our invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows and showing two cases stacked one on the other; and

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section taken along the line BB of FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows showing two stacked cases.

Referring now to the drawings and first particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a packing case having a bottom wall 4, a pair of longitudinal walls 8 and a pair of transverse walls 9. At the top of the transverse walls 9 a pair of supporting brackets or ledges 6 extend inwardly toward the center of the case so as to provide support for other packing cases to be stacked thereon or for any other objects. Reinforcing ribs 1 are provided between the transverse Walls 9 and the brackets 6.

Drainage holes 2 are formed at the ends of the bottom wall 4 to permit water from the melting ice that is mixed with the fish or other perishable products contained in the packing case to drain therethrough. Auxiliary drain holes 3 are provided in the longitudinal walls 8 through outwardly extending longitudinal ribs 5 located at the bottom of the walls 8, which serve as a reinforcement and also as a means for retaining the case in position when it is stacked upon a similar case. The bottom wall 4 of the case is doubly canted, somewhat similar to a peaked roof. It declines from a center ridge line parallel to the transverse walls 9 toward the drain openings 2 at the ends thereof so as to provide gravity flow means for carrying the water from the melting ice through the discharging drain holes 2.

In FIG. 2 there are shown two stacked cases in section along the line AA of FIG. 1. As clearly shown in FIG. 2, the drain holes 2 are located between the lower end of the transverse walls 9 and the slightly downwardly extending end ll of the bottom wall 4. The ridge line in the center of the doubly canted bottom wall is supported by a central rib 11 which reinforces the bottom wall 4 so as to prevent bending thereof particularly when the packing case is loaded with a heavy supply of ice and product.

FIG. 2 also clearly shows the inclination of the transverse walls 9 which tend to converge in an upwardly direction so as to place the upper edge of the transverse walls 9 closer in the longitudinal direction to the center of ridge line of the bottom wall 4 by an amount which is at least equal to the distance between the bent ends 10 of the bottom wall 4 and the lower edge of the transverse wall 9 between which the drain holes 2 are located. Consequently, when one casing is mounted on another, the drain holes 2 of the upper case extend beyond the supporting brackets 6 of the lower case. Consequently, water draining from the drain holes 2 of the upper packing case will not enter the lower packing case but will travel down the outer sloping side of the transverse walls 9.

The bent end 10 of the bottom wall 4 and the longitudinal ribs 5 of the longitudinal walls :8 aiford means for securely stacking one packing case on top of another in a telescoping manner and thereby prevents the upper packing case from slipping off the stack when a laterally directed force is accidentally applied to the packing case.

FIG. 3 shows two stacked cases in section taken along the line BB of FIG. 1 showing more clearly the longitudinal ribs 5 and the manner in which they grip the bracket 6 and the upper edges of the longitudinal sides 8 of the lower case when the cases are stacked one on the other.

We claim:

1. Case for packing fish or other perishable products in ice comprising a peaked bottom wall canted in opposite longitudinal directions, a pair of longitudinally extending side walls located at opposite sides of said bottom wall, said side walls having respectively an elongated notch at the upper edge and intermediate end portions thereof and having respectively outwardly extending longitudinal ribs at the lower edge thereof, and a pair of transverse end walls located at opposite ends of said bottom wall and inclined upwardly toward one another, said transverse end walls having a supporting surface portion respectively at the upper ends thereof, said supporting surface portions extending substantially horizontally in a direction toward the peak of said bottom wall and being reinforced by ribs extending laterally from the respective transverse end walls and by the end portions of said side walls respectively for supporting another packing case thereon, the lower ends of said transverse end walls and the respective ends of said bottom wall defining therebetween a plurality of drainage holes for draining water formed by the melting of ice supplied into the packing case, the drainage holes at one end of said bottom wall being spaced from the drainage holes at the other end of said bottom wall a greater distance than the spacing of the supporting surfaces at the upper ends of said transverse end walls, whereby the drainage holes of an upper packing case supported on the supporting surfaces of a lower packing case extend beyond the transverse end walls of the lower packing case so that water draining therefrom cannot enter the lower packing case.

2. Packing case according to claim 1, wherein a transversely disposed rib extends from the bottom of said bottom wall along the center thereof.

3. Packing case according to claim 1, wherein a pair of transversely disposed ribs extend from the bottom of said bottom wall along the ends thereof.

4. Packing case according to claim 3, wherein the transversely disposed ribs along the ends of said bottom wall are spaced from each other a distance slightly greater than the distance between the upper ends of said transverse end walls whereby the supporting surface portions of a lower packing case are locked between the transversely disposed ribs of an upper packing case supported on said lower packing case.

5. Packing case according to claim 4, wherein said longitudinally extending side walls are formed with drainage openings extending through said outwardly extending ribs, and the upper ends of said longitudinally extending side walls of a lower packing case are lockable between said outwardly extending ribs of an upper packing case supported on said lower packing case.

6. Packing case for fish or other perishable products in ice comprising a peaked bottom wall canted in opposite longitudinal directions, a pair of longitudinally extending side walls located at opposite sides of said bottom wall and having respectively an elongated notch at the upper edge and intermediate end portions thereof and an outwardly extending rib at a lower edge thereof, and a pair of transverse end walls located at opposite ends of said bottom wall and inclined upwardly toward one another, said transverse end walls having substantially horizontal supporting ledges at the upper edges thereof respectively and having lower ends respectively extending below the upper surface of said bottom wall, said horizontal supporting ledges extending in a direction toward the peak of said bottom wall and being reinforced by ribs extending laterally from the respective transverse end walls and by the end portions of said side walls respectively for supporting another packing case thereon, said bottom wall having downwardly extending ends adjacent the respective lower ends of said transverse walls and spaced from one another a distance corresponding to the distance between the upper edges of said transverse end walls, said downwardly extending ends of said bottom wall and the respective lower ends of said transverse walls defining therebetween a plurality of drainage holes for draining water formed by the melting of ice supplied into the packing case, whereby the drainage holes of an upper packing case supported on the supporting ledges of a lower packing case extend beyond the transverse end walls of the lower packing case so that water draining therefrom cannot enter the lower packing case.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,493,163 1/1950 Reusing 22097 2,873,782 2/1959 Gunn. 3,108,710 10/1963 Lange 220-72 X FOREIGN PATENTS 22,553 1/1962 Germany. 1,300,977 7/1963 France.

714,247 8/ 1954 Great Britain.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. GEORGE E. LOWRANCE, Examiner. 

1. CASE FOR PACKING FISH OR OTHER PERISHABLE PRODUCTS IN ICE COMPRISING A PEAKED BOTTOM WALL CANTED IN OPPOSITE LONGITUDINAL DIRECTIONS, A PAIR OF LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SIDE WALLS LOCATED AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID BOTTOM WALL, SAID SIDE WALLS HAVING RESPECTIVELY AN ELONGATED NOTCH AT THE UPPER EDGE AND INTERMEDIATE END PORTIONS THEREOF AND HAVING RESPECTIVELY OUTWARDLY EXTENDING LONGITUDINAL RIBS AT THE LOWER EDGE THEREOF, AND A PAIR OF TRANSVERSE END WALLS LOCATED AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID BOTTOM WALL AND INCLINED UPWARDLY TOWARD ONE ANOTHER, SAID TRANSVERSE END WALLS HAVING A SUPPORTING SURFACE PORTION RESPECTIVELY AT THE UPPER ENDS THEREOF, SAID SUPPORTING SURFACE PORTIONS EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY IN A DIRECTION TOWARD THE PEAK OF SAID BOTTOM WALL AND BEING REINFORCED BY RIBS EXTENDING LATERALLY FROM THE RESPECTIVE TRANSVERSE END WALLS AND BY THE END PORTIONS OF SAID SIDE WALLS RESPECTIVELY FOR SUPPORTING ANOTHER PACKING CASE THEREON, THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID TRANSVERSE END WALLS AND THE RESPECTIVE ENDS OF SAID BOTTOM WALL DEFINING THEREBETWEEN A PLURALITY OF DRAINAGE HOLES FOR DRAINING WATER FORMED BY THE MELTING OF ICE SUPPLIED INTO THE PACKING CASE, THE DRAINAGE HOLES AT ONE END OF SAID BOTTOM WALL BEING SPACCED FROM THE DRAINAGE HOLES AT THE OTHER END OF SAID BOTTOM WALL A GREATER DISTANCE THAN THE SPACING OF THE SUPPORTING SURFACES AT THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID TRANSVERSE END WALLS, WHEREBY THE DRAINAGE HOLES OF AN UPPER PACKING CASE SUPPORTED ON THE SUPPORTING SURFACES OF A LOWER PACKING CASE EXTEND BEYOND THE TRANSVERSE END WALLS OF THE LOWER PACKING CASE SO THAT WATER DRAINING THEREFROM CANNOT ENTER THE LOWER PACKING CASE. 